The Heart of a Weasley
by Lexxa24
Summary: Rosemarie and Alexandra have been best friends with the Weasley twins since before they can remember. But when unexpected feelings begin to develop, things start to get complicated and emotional. Set in The Golden Trio's fourth year
1. Chapter 1

_Hey guys! This is my new Harry Potter story that I've been working on for a while and I've FINALLY gotten around to publishing it! I really hope you enjoy it! Please review so I can see what you all think! :D_

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><p><strong>{The Heart of a Weasley}{Chapter One}{Together}<strong>

"Alex. Sweetheart, wake up. Come on." I heard my dad say to me, gently shaking my shoulder, pulling me from my deep slumber.

"Okay, I'm awake." I replied, not opening my eyes, or making any sign to move. I heard dad laugh a little.

"Come on, Alex. You have to leave for The Burrow soon-"

That woke me up.

I sprung bolt upright in bed, a huge smile on my face. "Is it the time already?" I asked excitedly, pulling back the covers and rushing over to my chair, where I had set out all my clothes for today.

"Wow. That shows your excitement." Dad said, from where he started opening my curtains.

"Are you kidding me?" I said, pulling a brush through my hair. "I haven't seen the Weasley's, and Rose for that matter, in over four weeks! I can't wait to see them again." Dad had surprised me in taking me on a four week holiday to California. We had travelled along the whole state, seen, and did, so many amazing things. We walked along the Walk of Fame, went to San Diego Zoo, swam with dolphins, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, took many boat rides, visited Alcatraz Island, went to Six Flags, and went horse riding on the beach. Well, I did the horse riding – Dad has never been fond of it. Mum was amazing at horse riding. Dad told me that I had gotten her talent passed down to me in the genes. I seemed to be very much like mum… "But don't get me wrong, I had a fantastic time on our holiday. Particularly the horse riding." I grinned, the happiness reaching my eyes. Dad saw it too.

"Exactly like your mother." Whenever mum was mentioned, the atmosphere changed. It was much more meaningful, and powerful.

Dad came over to me, and put his hands on my shoulders, smiling down at me. "You're the spitting image of your mother." I smiled up at him, knowing that we'd get through another day without her. "I'll let you get ready. Do you want me to sort you out some breakfast?" He asked, backing away towards the door.

"Umm…" I checked the time on the clock. Ten o'clock. "I think George said that they would be cooking a big lunch for the family today, and so I don't want to ruin my appetite. But thank you."

He smiled and nodded, closing the door behind him as he went out into the hallway.

For the next hour or so, I was rushing around my room, trying to remember everything that I had to bring with me for my stay at the Weasley's house for the remainder of the summer. Tomorrow, we would be going to the Quidditch World Cup. Dad was coming too, but he had to sort out some business at the Ministry today, and so he would be joining us at the World Cup tomorrow. I was so excited to see the World Cup. It's not every generation that get to experience the hype of it.

Once I was dressed and had applied some makeup, I checked that I everything that I would be needing; I can be rather forgetful when it comes to packing for a trip. Extra clothes, toiletries, gifts for the Weasley's and Rose, wand, broomstick, money, sunglasses, shoes, sun cream (no doubt that I would get sunburnt, being a redhead and having fair skin)…I think that's everything.

I slung the bag over my shoulder, and headed out my room, taking one last look behind me as I wouldn't be seeing my room again for another year.

I met dad downstairs in the hall, as my trunk and owl were there waiting with him.

"Right, do you have everything, Alex?" Dad asked me.

"I think so." I replied, stroking Tierney briefly through the bars of her cage. Dad bought her for me for my first year of Hogwarts. She is a wonderful barn owl, apart from when she brings me half-dead presents…

"Okay then. I'll drop you off at the Weasley's, and then I shall meet you at the World Cup tomorrow during the afternoon sometime." I nodded, and grabbed the top of Tierney's cage, whilst my dad grabbed hold of my hand, and the handle of my trunk. "Ready?"

"Yup." I closed my eyes and held on tightly to the things I was holding. Within a second, our feet where no longer touching the ground as my dad apparated us to the Weasley's. It felt as though I was being pulled through very tight tyres; it wasn't a pleasant feeling at all. It made my stomach lurch.

Within a few seconds, our feet were planted firmly on the ground once more, and I let out the breath I had been holding in.

"You alright?" Dad asked, knowing that I didn't really like to apparate much.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just the usual." I said, with a little laugh on the end. I then looked behind me, and instantly smiled. I saw my favourite place in the whole world.

The Burrow.

I always felt so at home when I was here. The Weasley's are truly the nicest family I have ever met in all my life. They are my family.

Dad and I started to walk towards the Burrow, my dad carrying my trunk and my owl, whilst I just had my bag. We had hardly walked five steps, when a brunette sprang out of the doorway, grinning over at our direction once she saw me.

"Rose!" I shouted, dropping my bag, and sprinting towards my best friend. She called my name also and mirrored my actions. We collided in a severe hug, but neither of us felt just how hard we were squeezing each other. We had never spent so long apart in all the years that we had known each other, which was coming up sixteen.

"I missed you so damn much!" Rose told me, not releasing her hold on me.

"Nothing compared to how much I missed you!" I replied.

We finally parted, and started laughing, immediately enjoying each other's company. Just as I was about to ask Rose how her summer had been, I noticed that two redheaded twins had emerged from the house, behind Rose. I looked over her shoulder, and grinned so widely that I thought my face would be plastered like that forever.

I ran past Rose, towards my two favourite guys in the whole world. I jumped into their open arms, and gave them both bone-crushing hugs.

"These past four weeks couldn't have gone slower!" George said, burying his face in one side of my hair.

"We thought this day would never come!" Fred replied afterwards squeezing me closer to the both of them. I then felt a third person hugging us all from behind me; Rose had come to join in the group hug. I felt a slight tear escape my eye from the sheer joy of being reunited with these guys.

"Whoa, guys let her breathe!" I heard Mr Weasley say from the direction of the house. We all released our hold on each other, and I went to greet Mr and Mrs Weasley.

"Good morning, my dear." Mr Weasley said, pulling me into a brief hug. "How was your holiday?"

"It was fantastic thank you. I really loved it, but I missed everyone so much." I replied, giving Mrs Weasley a warm hug.

"Everyone has been missing you also. We've been counting down the days until we would see you again." She said, smiling heartedly at me. Mrs Weasley had become a mother figure to me ever since mum died when I was nine. I was now sixteen, and going into my sixth year at Hogwarts with Rose, Fred, and George.

After many more hugs and greetings, Mr and Mrs Weasley ushered everyone inside, but my dad insisted that he had to go to work, and politely declined Mrs Weasley's offer for him to join us for lunch. My mum and dad had met Mr and Mrs Weasley when they were at Hogwarts; Dad had been in Gryffindor with them, and mum had been in Hufflepuff. They had all been best friends, just like Rose, Fred, George and I were now. When mum died, the Weasley's were instantly there for me and dad, and if it wasn't for them, I don't know where dad and I would be now. And therefore, that's how we are such good friends with the Weasley's.

I bid farewell to dad, and once he had apparated away, Rose, Fred and George lugged my things upstairs, whilst Mrs Weasley spoke to me. "We've made up an extra bed in Ginny's room for you to sleep in, but if it's gets a bit tight, what with four of you being in there, then let me know, and I shall do some re-arranging."

"Oh, no I'm sure we'll be okay, thank you. I don't want to be a burden by having to re-arrange everyone." I said, feeling a little guilty that I was another person invading Ginny's room.

"Besides," Ginny said, coming to stand next to me, "It's like having a sleepover every day of the week." She laughed a little, and I joined in.

"Well, alright then." Mrs Weasley said with a smile. "Okay, well go and settle in. Lunch is in twenty minutes." She ushered us upstairs, and Ginny led me to her room, which was situated on the first floor.

"Seriously, Alex, what do you have in that trunk of yours?" George asked me, as he had just carried my trunk up to Ginny's room. "Weighs a ton!"

"Stop complaining." Rose said, whilst elbowing George in the stomach lightly, with a laugh. He, maturely, stuck his tongue out at her, but there was a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I have a whole years' supply of clothes and books in there so it's natural that it would weigh a fair amount." I replied, coolly.

Fred had set my bag and owl down in a corner, and then came to stand over with Ginny and I by the door. He breathed out in a soft whistle and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's going to be a bit of a squeeze in here, isn't it?" He said, looking around at the sleeping arrangements.

You know, now that he pointed it out, I saw what he meant. The floor was hardly visible at all.

"Maybe you girls should sleep in our room. It's bigger than Ginny's." George stated looking around at the beds, probably comparing the size of his and Fred's room to Ginny's.

"Good idea, George." Fred said. "But I don't know if mum'll let you. We'll go and debate with her." They made a move to leave the room for downstairs, but soon stopped when I spoke.

"Who says that Rose and I want to stay in your room?" I said, crossing my arms.

"You'll have more room." They said together, pointing out the obvious, and looking at me as though I was being stupid.

"Your room smells like gunpowder though." Rose stated, coming to stand by me and Ginny, tripping over a sheet as she went.

"It's always smelt like that. Was like that when the house was built." Fred said.

"No, it smells like that because you guys like to make things explode." I said, knowing that they couldn't argue.

I was right. They just looked at each other, turned, and headed downstairs.

"I really don't know how you two handle them all throughout the year." Ginny said, laughing slightly.

"I don't know how you deal living with them." Rose said back, laughing also.

"But then again, we wouldn't have them any other way." I stated, smiling at them both, and they nodded, agreeing with me.

Fifteen minutes later, we were all in the kitchen, helping Mrs Weasley to set out the table and to dish up dinner. There was only Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Rose, myself, and Mr and Mrs Weasley eating lunch today as the eldest three Weasley's were off working, and Harry and Hermione would be arriving late this afternoon.

Fred and George had managed to persuade Mrs Weasley to let Rose and I sleep in their room, but only if the boys wouldn't experiment with their inventions whilst we were in their room. Mrs Weasley wanted to stop their experimenting full stop but Fred and George would never give up their dream of inventing the most random, although rather brilliant, products.

We all sat round the kitchen table, Rose standing out the most with her dark brown hair and fairly dark skin against seven pale and redheaded people. Rose's dad, Diego, is Spanish, and came over to England to attend Hogwarts, which is where he met Rose's mum, Felicity. They have three children; Jae, who is in the year above us, Rose, and Lilly, who is in Ginny's year at Hogwarts. Jae, Rose, and I are in Hufflepuff, whilst Lilly is in Ravenclaw, following on from her mum.

"This is a fantastic roast, Mrs Weasley." Rose complimented.

"Thank you very much, sweetheart." Mrs Weasley has always been very fond of Rose also.

There was a continuing clanking of knives and forks against plates, and the chatter was at a minimum. The food was just too delicious to neglect for long.

"So, what has everyone been up to this summer?" I asked, hoping they had all enjoyed their summer as much as I had.

"Well, Fred and I found this new ingredient that would make the Skiving Snack boxes work even better-"

"What have I told you two? You are not to experiment with things that you don't know anything about!" Mrs Weasley said, her cheeks pinking up from anger.

Rose and I stifled a laugh, trying to hide our faces behind our drinking glasses.

Fred and George were about to start arguing their point, but Mrs Weasley gave them both very stern looks, which made them quickly fascinated by their food.

Minutes later, all the food was eaten up, and all the plates were empty.

"That was delicious, Mrs Weasley. Really, really lovely." I said, standing up to start clearing the table, but was soon ushered back into my seat.

"No, no dear! You're a guest in this household, not a maid." Mrs Weasley said, smiling over at me. I smiled back, and soon enough, everyone (apart from Rose and I, as we had received stern tone from Mrs Weasley not to help) was clearing the table, and cleaning the plates, glasses, and cutlery.

"Oh, boys, could you go and de-gnome the garden before you play Quidditch this afternoon please?" Mrs Weasley asked, while casting a spell on the sink and the brushes so that they started to wash up on their own.

There was a chorus of groans from the boys, but with an angry look from Mrs Weasley, they all finished their jobs in the kitchen, and trudged outside to proceed with their other chores. Rose and I thanked Mrs Weasley once more for dinner, and then followed the boys outside, whilst Ginny stayed behind to help her parents.

As Rose and I started to walk slowly over to the boys, we noticed that there weren't too many gnomes around, but enough to keep the boys busy for a while.

"I'm going to try my hand at this de-gnoming business." Rose announced, uncrossing her arms and looking at me.

"Seriously?" I said, with a laugh.

"Out of all the years that we've been to the Burrow, we haven't even attempted it." She stated.

"True, but I thought that you didn't like the sound of it?" I was still wearing an amused expression.

"Well…I still don't. But, for some reason I feel like trying." She said, eyeing George, who had just grabbed a gnome by its legs.

"Be my guest." I gestured with my arm for her to go first.

With a look of determination on her face, she walked up to George, who had just flung the gnome into the other field successfully.

My eyes then started to skim over garden, to see if there were any more gnomes for me to sort out, but they're weren't. Oh well, there will most likely be more tomorrow for us to deal with.

Looking back at George and Rose, a small smile instantly spread across my face. Rose was now holding a gnome by his feet, and George was standing behind her. His arms were stretched out along hers, and his hands were wrapped around smaller ones, showing her what to do. A slight pink tinge was playing at Rose's cheeks, as she laughed slightly, most likely at something George had just told her.

I was so busy looking at Rose and George that I hadn't noticed that Fred had come to stand next to me.

"You're a bit transfixed, Alex." He commented, waving his hand in front of my face.

I looked at him, smiling. "Look." I said, and turning back towards Rose and George. Fred followed my gaze. George stepped away from Rose, and after she had spun a few times on the spot, she released the gnome's legs, and he went flying into the next field, landing on his head. Rose looked really happy that she had managed to do it, and turned around to hug George. He responded enthusiastically.

"They fancy each other right?" Fred said, to put it bluntly.

"It's been mind-blowingly obvious for the past year." I said back.

"What I don't understand is why they haven't told us. I mean why George hasn't told me, and why Rose hasn't told y-"

"Ssh!" I interrupted him, as Rose and George were making their way over and were now in earshot.

"Ready to play some Quidditch?" George said, eagerly rubbing his hands together, as well as wearing a mischievous grin.

"Definitely!" Fred replied, high fiving George. Rose and I looked amused. "Hey, Ron!" Ron looked over from where he was making his way towards the house. "Quidditch?" Fred shouted, and Ron replied with a 'thumbs up'.

After the twins impatiently ushered us into the house so that we could get our brooms, we headed up to the field that was a little way up the hill. The place was beautiful; it was surrounded by trees, and through the gaps in the trees, you could see the little village of Ottery St Catchpole below the hill.

We had collected some apples from the ground and played three against three; Ginny, George and I versus Ron, Fred, and Rose. We played many games throughout the afternoon, throwing and catching the apples to each other, and scoring goals if you hit a certain tree. Rose and I were chasers on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team at Hogwarts, and so we had the best aim and tactics (which was why we weren't allowed on the same team when playing outside of Hogwarts). It was so much fun playing QUidditch, but we really played ourselves to the point where we physically couldn't walk anymore.

Harry and Hermione arrived just before dinner, and for the rest of the evening, we all hung out in the lounge, talking and sharing what we had done over the summer. Everyone else went to bed around nine (as we had to be up early for the World Cup tomorrow), except Fred, George, Rose, and I, who stayed in the lounge for a further half an hour. I gave them all their gifts from America, which they all loved, and then we retired to bed. Rose and I were surprised that Fred and George had given up their own beds so that we could sleep in them, while they took the blow up beds on the floor. They could be such Gentleman when they wanted to be, which wasn't often. But Rose and I knew that they would go to the ends of the earth to protect us.


	2. Chapter 2

{The Heart of a Weasley}{Chapter Two}{Early Start}

The next morning was not fun at all. Mrs Weasley had come into our room and shaken us gently awake.  
>"Time to get up, Alex, dear." She whispered, before heading over to make sure that Rose, Fred, and George were awake also.<br>"Already?" George said, rubbing his eyes. I sat up in bed, for fear that I would fall back to sleep if I stayed laying down. I turned towards the window and was ready to squint at the morning sun, but it was still dark outside. Mornings like this can be really fun as you know that you're about to go somewhere exciting, but it can also be a pain in the butt.  
>Mrs Weasley left the room as soon as we were all awake, most likely to go and wake the rest of the household, or to go and prepare breakfast. I climbed out of bed, and bent down under the window, rummaging through my bag for my clothes.<br>Rose had to physically pull the bed covers off of Fred and George to get them to move. As soon as they had gotten up, she ushered them out of the room so that Rose and I could get dressed. The twins grabbed their clothes through half-closed eyes, and headed off for the bathroom.  
>"M-morning." Rose said, stifling a yawn.<br>"Morning." I returned with a sleepy smile.  
>I figured a skirt, tights, boots, and a hoodie would do the trick today. We dressed in silence, not really awake enough to start a conversation. With our bags all packed, we headed down into the kitchen.<p>

Mrs Weasley was busy preparing something in a large pot, which was sitting on the hot stove. Mr Weasley was clad in his muggle clothes, and was counting the World Cup tickets over and over. Best to be thorough. Harry, Ron, Fred, and George were sitting at the table, head on their hands, all looking like they wanted to go back to bed.  
>"Come on, guys. Liven up! We're going to see some quality Quidditch tonight!" Rose said, eagerly trying to get everyone woken up a little bit more. It didn't really have much of an effect as all she got was a 'Mmm' out of George and Harry, but Ron and Fred just stayed quiet. I wandered over to Fred, and started to annoy him, mainly by ruffling his hair so violently that his whole head shook, and by gently prodding his cheek with my finger. It seemed to work as he kept swatting his hand at me, and eventually said,<br>"Alright, alright, I get the point." I walked away with a satisfied smile.  
>Ginny and Hermione then came down the stairs, both with half-closed eyes and droopy expressions.<br>"Why do we have to be up so early? It's almost criminal."  
>"We have a bit of a walk to do." Mr Weasley announced, and I hoped that he really did mean a bit.<br>"What? We're walking to the World Cup?" Harry asked, temporarily lifting his head up from where it was resting on his hand.  
>"Oh, no no no!" Mr Weasley replied. "That's miles away. We're only walking a short distance to where we'll transport by Portkey. You see, it's hard for us Wizard folk to meet without attracting so much attention from the muggles. We have to be careful, especially with something as big as the Quidditch World C-"<br>"George!" We all jumped at Mrs Weasley's shout.  
>"What?" George replied, in his best innocent voice, but Rose, Fred, and I instantly saw through it.<br>"What is that in your pocket?"  
>"Nothing!"<br>"Don't you dare lie to me!" Mrs Weasley's face was fuming red as she pulled out her wand and pointed at George's pocket, shouting "Accio!" Dozens of multi-coloured sweets shot out of George's pockets into Mrs Weasley's outstretched hand, whilst George tried, unsuccessfully, to catch them. Mrs Weasley by this point was absolutely fuming. She then proceeded to shout at George about the inventions, and also rounded on Fred too. The scene that followed was rather unpleasant; Rose and I knew that the twins were trying to smuggle as many sweets out of the house as possible, but Mrs Weasley wasn't having any of it. She ordered the twins to empty all their pockets, and when they didn't make a move to do so, she continuously shouted 'Accio! Accio!' at Fred and George, and sweets zoomed out of the most unlikely places within the twins clothing.  
>"We spent six month's developing those!" Fred argued, as Mrs Weasley disposed of all the sweets.<br>"Oh, a fine way to spend six months!" She argued back, her face the same colour as her hair. "No wonder you didn't get more OWLs!" Rose and I would have normally been trying to stifle a laugh at the anger on Fred and George's face, but we knew that it wasn't the time. We were standing just as awkwardly as everyone else.

The atmosphere was tense as we made our departure. Mrs Weasley was still furious as she bid us goodbye, but not as furious as the twins, and they had both hoisted their rucksacks onto their backs and left without a word.  
>"Have a lovely time, and behave yourselves!" She added towards the retreating figures of Fred and George, who were heading towards a little clump of trees situated away from the village of Ottery.<br>With a final farewell, the rest of us left the Burrow, and proceeded to follow the twins towards where the Portkey was. Rose and I jogged a little to catch up with them.  
>Once we reached them, they both had their heads down, and were still wearing angry expressions.<br>"Oh, come on, you guys. It s not that bad." Rose said, keeping her distance just in case they lost it, which was very rare.  
>"We spent ages developing those things. She never sees the good in what we do." Fred replied, crossing his arms as we started to climb a bit of a hill.<br>"I know, honey." I said, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly.  
>"She'll never take us seriously that we want to open a joke shop rather than follow in our dad's footsteps and work in the Ministry." George added, his expression calming down from the anger.<br>"She will. It'll just take time. We only have two years left of school, and then you can start your dream." Rose said, smiling.  
>The twins cheered up eventually, as Rose and I decided to distract them by making them laugh and goofing around. We didn't want the twins to be angry and sad when today was going to be a day of excitement and adrenaline. Plus, it kept our minds off of how cold it was outside, as the moon was still shining brightly in the sky.<p>

The group had resorted to silence as we continued to climb the steep hill. We were near enough panting by the time we reached the top, and so there was no room to make conversation as we were concentrating on getting to the top as quickly as possible. And with such little sleep, the trek was longer.  
>I grabbed a stitch that had developed in my side, and tried to slow my breathing once we had finally reached the top.<br>"We've made good time. We have ten minutes." Mr Weasley announced, setting down his bag and wiping his forehead. Fred, George and Rose had sat down by a tree, and so I went over to join them.  
>"I hope I never have to climb up that hill again." Rose said, taking a swig from her water bottle.<br>A few minutes later, Mr Weasley got us all searching for the Portkey. None of us felt like moving around for the moment, but we were in no state to argue. We weren't searching for long though as we heard a distance call emit from the other side of the hill top.  
>"Arthur! Over here, we've got it!" I looked over in the direction of the voice, and saw two figures silhouetted against the sky. We all got our stuff and headed over.<br>"Amos!" Arthur replied, shaking hands with the man.  
>Rose and I instantly smiled and ran over to hug the guy who was standing next to the man. It was Cedric Diggory, a very good friend of ours, and our Quidditch captain.<br>"Hi girls, how are you both?" Cedric asked us, once we had shared a hug.  
>"We're good, thank you! A bit tired though." Rose replied for the both of us. "You?"<br>"Yeah, not too bad, thanks." He smiled at us both.  
>We didn't get a chance to carry on the conversation as Arthur introduced Cedric's dad to us. "This is Amos Diggory everyone. He works with me at the Ministry. And, as most of you probably know, this is his son, Cedric."<br>"Hi." Cedric smiled, greeting the rest of the group.  
>Everyone returned with a greeting, apart from Fred and George, who barely nodding in greeting. They had never liked Cedric since Hufflepuff beat Gryffindor in the Quidditch match last year. It surprised Rose and I really because Fred and George didn't stop talking to us, even though both Rose and I play as Chasers on the Hufflepuff team. Maybe it was because Cedric was the seeker and so he was the one to catch the snitch before Harry. I don't know; Rose and I have never asked as we didn't want tensions to rise.<br>"Are all these yours, Arthur?" Mr Diggory asked, looking around at all us kids.  
>"Oh no, just the redheads." Mr Weasley moved to put his hands on my shoulders. "Apart from this one. This is Alex; she is John Summers' daughter." I smiled at Mr Diggory.<br>"Of course, of course! Pleasure to meet you." He shook my hand, and I smiled at him.  
>Mr Weasley then introduced the others, This is Rosemarie, Diego Knight's daughter, this is Hermione, a friend of Ron's, and this is Harry, another friend-"<br>"Merlin's beard! You're Harry Potter!" Harry looked a bit uncomfortable as Mr Diggory's eyes had widened at the sight of Harry.  
>"Er yeah." Mr Diggory shook Harry's hand, and said, "Ced's talked about you, of course. Told us about playing against you last year." Oh no, this is gonna be awkward. "I said to him, I said Cedric, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren 'You beat Harry Potter!'" I could tell that Harry didn't know what to say. Fred and George's anger was creeping back onto their faces, but Cedric looked slightly embarrassed. He muttered to his dad,<br>"Harry fell off his broom, dad, I told you, it was an accident."  
>"Yes, but you didn't fall off your broom, did you?" Mr Diggory was about to carry on, but Mr Weasley thankfully cut in.<br>"It must be nearly time. Better get ready." Mr Weasley turned to Harry, Hermione, Rose and I. "All you need to do is touch the Portkey." We nodded to show we understood, and then followed Mr Diggory and Mr Weasley out of the shadow of the trees. We climbed up a slight slope, and then I noticed that there was a manky old boot placed in the middle of the hill top. Muggles wouldn't ordinarily touch such a thing if they stumbled upon it one afternoon, and so it was safe to keep in such an open space.  
>We all crowded around it, outstretched our hands to touch the boot securely, and waited for the transport to start.<br>"Okay, three, two, one." Mr Weasley announced, and then it happened instantly.  
>My stomach was left behind as we were jerked into the air violently, everyone's hair and clothes whipping wildly in the wind. Our surroundings were a blur of colour as we spun faster and faster, making everyone bump into the people next to them. I had to close my eyes almost immediately because everything was spinning and moving too fast and it was making me feel nauseous. However, as soon as I did so, we had all hit the ground with a hard thud. A chorus of groans emitted, as it had been a shock to suddenly hit the ground without any warning. I opened my eyes and sat up, making sure that I wasn't hurt. I looked up, and noticed Cedric, Mr Weasley, and Mr Diggory all land on their feet with elegance. I scowled slightly. Fred then came over and helped me to stand, and I brushed myself off.<br>Once we were all on our feet once more, we followed the adults once again to the top of the hill. It was a magnificent sight when we looked down into the massive field below.  
>It was impossible to see the ground beneath the thousands of witches and wizards, the tents, and the millions of souvenirs that were being flew and waved around everywhere. The field was a blur of green, white, red, and black, the colours of the two Quidditch teams; Ireland and Bulgaria.<br>"Everyone, welcome to the Quidditch World Cup." Mr Diggory announced proudly.  
>A grin broke out on my face. I was in awe of the picture in front of me. It was absolutely fabulous; I couldn't wait to get settled and join in with all the action.<p>

Walking through the crowd was a challenge, and a delight. It was hard to stay together with the group because there were just so many people about, but it was amazing to see all the different types of things that were going on. Children were running around waving flags and pretending to fly on toy broomsticks, entertainers were juggling, or eating fire, or doing various other tricks, people were charming their signs to flash or twinkle or light up at a certain point, and everyone was just in such a hype that we had to shout to each other to communication properly.  
>The Diggory's went off in another direction when we were deep into the crowd to find their tent. Our group carried on forwards through the crowd, until we eventually reached our destination. We were all in a bit of a shock when we reached our tent.<br>It was barely big enough for two people to sleep in, let alone nine of us. But this didn't seem to cross Mr Weasley's mind as he held open one curtain of the tent and ushered us in with the words, "Home sweet home." We went in one by one, Rose, Mr Weasley and I being the last. But once we were inside the tent, we got the second shock of the day. The tent was easily ten times bigger inside, if not more. It opened up into what I would call the lounge, and then there was a kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom off to the right, a kitchen table over the back, and two more bedrooms to the left. I opened my mouth in amazement, but a huge grin soon replaced the surprised gaze.  
>"This is truly astonishing. I will never cease to be amazed with what a witch or wizard can do." I said, slowly walking around the tent, exploring with enthusiasm.<br>"Alright, Fred, George, Harry and Ron, you're in that bedroom. Girls, you're in that one. And this one is mine." He said, heading over to the bedroom on the right hand side. "Now go and fight each other for what bed you would like." While us girls just walked to our temporary bedroom, the boys all ran and actually did end up fighting over which bed they wanted. Does it really matter that much? Rose, Ginny, Hermione and I had a good laugh about it while we calmly decided which beds would be ours. Ginny and Rose got the top bunks, while Hermione and I took the bottom ones. Even as we were unpacking our things and talking about who we thought would win the match tonight, we heard the boys still squabbling over which bed they wanted. I laughed and headed into their room, to find that Ron had grabbed the top bunk and Harry the bottom, but Fred and George were both battling to get the top bunk.  
>"Seriously guys? Is the top bunk really that big of a deal?" I asked, standing in the doorway. They didn't answer me, as Fred had now gotten George in a headlock. Time to break it up I think. I went over and pried them apart with some difficulty as they're both very strong, but they wouldn t risk me getting hurt so they both backed down quickly enough. "You're both sixteen. I think you're old enough to rationally decide which bed you'll be staying in. Besides, you'll only be sleeping in it for one night, so it's no one's loss really." They both just looked at me, and I know that they were debating whether to listen to me, or to just carry on as they were. I rolled my eyes when they were still staring at me a minute later. "Just do rock paper scissors." They both looked at me blankly now. I forgot, it's a muggle thing.<br>I showed them how to do rock, paper, scissors, and George won, so he claimed the top bunk, whilst Fred sat there sulking. It didn't last long because Rose came in and announced that she was going to go and buy some souvenirs. Fred, George, and I decided to tag along with her.

It seemed as though even more people had arrived in the time that we were in the tent, and so it was more difficult to manoeuvre through the crowd. Thankfully, Fred and George were at a tall height of six foot three, and so they could see over the crowd and lead the way towards the nearest souvenir stand.  
>"Good morning, my friends!" The owner greeted us cheerfully. "What team are you supporting at tonight s match?"<br>"Well, I'm part Irish, so Ireland for me." I said, picking up a green and white patterned scarf and putting it around my neck.  
>"Either is fine for us." Rose said, plonking a Bulgarian hat onto her head and wrapping an Irish scarf around her neck.<br>"Nice combination." I said, laughing at her. She laughed with me.  
>The twins decided on Irish hats and Irish scarfs.<br>"So am I the only one supporting the Bulgarian's?" Rose said, looking at the twins and I, who're all sporting green and white souvenirs.  
>"You only like the Bulgarian team because you think Viktor Krum is good looking." Fred pointed out, and Rose's cheeks tinted pink.<br>"I do not!" She said, but all three of us knew she was lying. We all showed her that we weren't convinced. She straightened the hat on her head, secured the scarf around her neck, and picked up an Irish flag. "Well I like the hat." She said, turning towards the salesperson. "I'll take them."  
>"Great, that'll be two galleons and five sickles please."<br>Once Rose had paid, the twins and I followed in suit. On the way back to the tent, we bumped into various people that we knew from Hogwarts, including Oliver Wood, who was the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He'd just left Hogwarts last month. He greeted us with a gorgeous smile and that to-die-for Scottish accent, and Rose and I practically melted on the spot. We had both had massive crushes on Oliver over the past year, but didn't do anything about it because we'd get hurt if the other person went out with him, so we had agreed to not date him. But, we still loved to talk about him and gaze at him across the Great Hall.

We didn't hang around long, as he was with his family and we didn t want to intrude, so we made our way back to the tent. By this time, it was nearing nine o'clock, and we were all starting to get hungry again, as we had had breakfast at four in the morning. Rose, Hermione, and I cooked a fried breakfast for everyone, and we all enjoyed sitting around the table in pleasant conversation.  
>"Okay, I bet you, any money, that Ireland will win, but Krum will catch the snitch. I bet you anything." Fred said, pointing at Ron with his fork.<br>"Of course Krum will get the snitch. He s a fantastic player. The best in the world...I'd love to meet him in person..." Ron trailed off, smiling.  
>"I think you're in love, Ron." George said, making the whole table laugh as Ron snapped out of it, and argued back.<br>"I'm not in love with him! He's just fantastic!"  
>Fred and George wouldn't let it go after that. I felt sorry for Ron, as it wasn't easy to win against the twins, but it was also hilarious as we were all laughing for the rest of the breakfast time. Ron eventually gave up trying to explain himself, and just kept piling food onto his plate. Harry had then revealed that Ron had purchased a toy figure of Krum from one of the souvenir stands, which had us all exploding with laughter again. Ron didn't speak to us for the majority of the afternoon, but soon perked up when it was time to leave for the Match in the early evening.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey everyone! Would just like to thank those of you who read this story :) I hope you're enjoying it and I'm sorry that it's been so long since posting the previous chapter. Also, I would appreciate it if you ould review this story so that I know what you think of it! Thank you, and enjoy :)_

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><p><strong>{The Heart of a Weasley}{Chapter Three}{Unexpected Happenings}<strong>

"Here Rose, you're a talented painter. You can decorate us." Fred and George sat down on Rose's bed in the tent, and attempted to hand Rose some green and white paint. She didn't move from where she was zipping up her boots.

"You really want me to paint your faces?" She said, getting up and looking at herself in the mirror.

"Yeah, of course! We don't want to be the only ones at the match who're boring and not dressing up!" George replied.

She rolled her eyes, whilst wearing a smile, then conformed to their request. The finished result consisted of Fred having a massive green and white cross going right across his face, and George having two Irish flags on his cheeks.

"Aw, wow! I'm jealous! You're gonna have to paint my face now." I said, grinning at Rose.

She laughed, and seated me down, and proceeded to paint my face. I had two green and two white stripes across each cheek. I thanked her, and then she finished with putting the same patterns on her cheeks.

My dad then turned up about five minutes later, and I greeted him with a hug. Once he had set his bag down on his bed for the night, we were all heading out of the tent, and joining the crowd towards the Quidditch World Cup stadium.

"I hate the cold so much! Why is it this cold in the middle of August?" I moaned, rubbing my hands up and down my arms. We were making our way to the stadium for the match between Ireland and Bulgaria, all clad in our various colours and attires.

"Because you live in England." George replied, slouching his arm around my shoulders.

He had a very good point…

After what felt like an hour of moving at a very slow pace around tents and through fields with thousands of witches and wizards, we reached the stadium. The sight was truly magnificent. It looked about sixty stories high, and was all illuminated by white, red and green lights, obviously portraying the colours of the Quidditch Teams. Mr Weasley handed our tickets to the very short, old guy at the base of the hundreds of flights of stairs. We then noticed that Cedric and Mr Diggory were waiting for us just inside the Stadium. We greeted them happily, and then proceeded to walk amongst the crowd.

Fred then informed us that our seats were at the very top, and I heard Rose groan next to me, looking up at the amount of staircases that we had to climb. I sighed, and along with everyone else, started to make the trek to the top. I soon forgot about how tiring it was going to be, and got caught up in all the hype that was now surrounding us. It was an amazing feeling. I couldn't help but grin when I saw the paint markings that people had on their faces, and the different souvenirs people were wearing.

Once we got to the top of the high stadium, which didn't happen for a good half an hour as we kept having traffic jams with the number of people going up and down the stairs, we all rushed to the railings to get a good view of the stadium.

"Blimey, Dad! How far up are we?" Ron asked excitedly, trying to fix his eyes on pretty much everything.

"Well, put it this way. If it rains, you'll be the first to know." A cold voice reached our ears, and I gritted my teeth, turning in the direction to see Lucius Malfoy, and his son, Draco. They were both looking at Arthur and Ron with their famous Malfoy smirks. Mr Diggory didn't look impressed either, however still returned the slight nod Mr Malfoy gave him.

Along with the majority of magical folk, I wasn't too fond of the Malfoy's. I know that my mum and dad hadn't gotten along with Lucius while they were at school, and I didn't get along with Draco. I can never understand any wizard who wanted to keep magical people pure, and despised Half-Bloods and Muggleborns.

As Draco started to brag about being invited by the Minister himself, Cedric put his hand on my upper arm and led me towards the final staircase. Fred, George, and Rose followed in suit.

"Why does he have to brag about everything? You're richer than he is, Rose." I stated, practically stomping up the stairs now.

Just as we reached the top of the stairs, sensing my sudden anger and frustration, Fred and George came up behind me and tackled me in a double bear hug, making me laugh. I gripped their arms tightly.

"Aww, you guys." I said, smiling up at both of them.

They knew exactly how to make me feel instantly better. They eventually let go of me, and we continued to our places, the rest of our squad now behind us.

"Did you see that dive that Krum did? How bloody fantastic was that? He is _flawless_!"

It was the end of the match, and Ron wouldn't stop talking about Viktor Krum, Bulgarian's Seeker. I found it amusing and enjoyed talking to him about Krum. The twins on the other hand were having a field day. They wouldn't quit teasing Ron about it; it was basically a replica of the conversation we had earlier at breakfast. Rose was giggling with Hermione and Ginny in front of Ron, Harry, and I, most likely how gorgeous all of the Quidditch players were.

Back at the tent, none of us had made any attempt to calm down, and Mr Weasley was showing no sign of trying to settle us. We had proceeded to all hum the Irish tune loudly.

"Told you that the Irish would win, but Krum'll get the Snitch!" Fred announced, half-shouting over the noise in and around the tent.

"Yes, Fred. You've told us about a hundred times since the match ended like an hour ago!" I teased him, laughing.

"But I told you!" I just ended up laughing. It was though we were all drunk on happiness. For what felt like hours, we were all celebrating Ireland's victory, and us Quidditch players were having deep and lively discussing about some of the moves the players did on their brooms, and were all hoping to successfully try them out on the Quidditch Pitch back at Hogwarts.

The evening was a truly eventful one, and even past midnight, we were all still laughing and having fun. When Fred and George had, once again, resorted into teasing Ron about being in love with Krum, I heard a loud crash outside. I turned towards the entrance to the tent, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Looking briefly back at the others, I noticed that they hadn't heard the noise; they were still messing around. As I headed to the opening in the tent, Mr Weasley beat me there. Our faces illuminated orange as the tent opposite us caught fire. Mr Weasley instinctively grabbed me and pulled me further into the tent, startling the others out of their bright moods.

"Dad, what-"

"Everybody, grab your jackets, we have to get out of here."

"What's going on?"

Even though we were all confused as to what was going on, we all hastily put on our jackets, and made sure that we all had our wands.

"Get outside! Quickly!" My dad urged, grabbing his own wand.

Outside had completely transformed from the events earlier in the evening. Instead of the happy and celebrative atmosphere, there was that of fear and terror. Screams were erupting from all around us, and many tents were up in flames. People were running in every direction, and I was scared as to what was causing all the screams.

Rose was instantly by my side, holding onto my arm as she looked around in horror. Dad and Mr Weasley soon emerged from the tent once all of us kids were out.

"We're going to help the Ministry." Dad informed us, holding his wand ready.

"You lot, get to the woods and stick together! We'll come and get you once all this is sorted out. Go, hurry!" Mr Weasley shouted over all the noise, ushering us towards the woods, along with the majority of the crowd.

Fred grabbed Ginny's hand and started to run, and the rest of us followed. Running as fast as the people around us would allow, the woods didn't seem to get any closer. Looking behind briefly to check on the others, I noticed that we had lost Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Panic surged through me, but that soon changed when I heard Rose scream,

"Alex! George!"

Turning to my right, I saw that Rose had been separated from us, and was trying to battle through the crowd to get back to us. She then disappeared completely out of sight with another scream.

"Rose!" George and I yelled together.

Suddenly, the tent next to me burst into flames, sending me and a few others crashing to the ground. I cried out in pain as I landed on something hard. My arm surged with pain as I rolled over onto it. I quickly checked my arm and saw that it was just a gash. I then tried to get back onto my feet, but with the rushing of people, it was hard to stay balanced. Looking around, I could see neither Rose nor George. My grip tightened on my wand, but before I had the chance to resort to magic, I felt someone grab my arm and pull me to my feet.

"Alex, come on!" George shouted, gripping me around the waist firmly and pulling me along with the crowd. We reached the woods quickly. Once there, we were reunited with Fred and Ginny, who both looked unscathed.

"Thank God you guys are alright!" I said, smiling at them. Looking around them, I saw no sign of Rose. I started to look round more rapidly. "Where's Rose? Did she make it out? Rose? Rose?"

Just as Fred and George were starting to sprint back towards the opening in the trees, a figure ran towards us, carrying someone in their arms. As they came into view, I saw that the figure was Cedric, and he was setting down Rose on the ground gently.

"Oh my God!" George fell to his knees next to her and grabbed her hand, looking into her face. "Rose?" He whispered.

"Thank you Ced for finding her, and I'm glad you're alright." I said, touching his arm. I got on the ground on the other side of Rose, and saw that she had her eyes open, but she had been hurt. Her lip was bleeding and there was some blood on her t-shirt.

"It's just my stomach. I think I scraped myself on one of the tent pegs when I fell to the ground. It's nothing serious."

I lifted up her top slightly, and saw that the cut was relatively deep. I gently touched the edge of the gash and Rose winced. "Okay, Rose, hold still." I said, pulling out my wand.

"Wha—What are you doing?" George asked, clearly concerned for Rose.

"A healing spell." They knew that I was gifted with being able to use healing spells effectively. I was studying to become a Medi-Healer. I pointed my wand at Rose's wound, and whispered, "Episkey." The cut started to magically heal itself, until only blood stains were left on her skin. I cast a second spell, "Tergeo." Those blood stains were soon non-existent. I looked back up at Rose. "How do you feel now?"

She was smiling at me. "You're the one person to count on. Thank you."

"You're welcome." I said, helping her to sit up.

"Come on, let's see if we can go back. See if the mayhem has passed." Cedric said, heading towards the edge of the trees. I reached out and grabbed his arm.

"No! They could still be there!"

He placed his hand on my shoulder, comfortingly. "Don't worry. It'll be alright." He moved and looked out of a break in the leaves, returning back to us seconds later. "It looks like they've moved on from this area, but I think it's best to stay here. Wait until someone comes and gets us."

We all found a rather sheltered spot that wasn't easy to see into, and settled on the earth, waiting.

What felt like hours went by, and bit by bit, the air eventually became still and quiet once more, the first time since arriving at the World Cup. Ginny and Rose were huddled up shivering, whilst Cedric, Fred and George were keeping an eye out for an suspicious being or danger lurking nearby, although, I'm sure we would have heard it. I decided to break the silence.

"It's been quiet for a long time now."

Looking over at Cedric, I could tell he was thinking the same thing. He nodded, indicating that we should try to get back to the tent.

Coming out of our hiding place with caution, we moved at a slow pace, wands at the ready. We were taking no chances. Through the trees we went, without bumping into another soul, so when we came out of the comfort and safety of the trees, we were startled to see dad and Mr Weasley rushing towards us. I ran and embraced my dad, much as Ginny did to hers.

"Thank Heavens you're all safe!" Mr Weasley said, checking that we were all uninjured.

"The group of bandits have done their damage, and have scattered. We've managed to put out most of the fires, but haven't found Harry, Ron, and Hermione yet."

"Head back to the tent as quickly as you can. It's safe to go. We'll be back shortly, but try to get at least some sleep before we have to leave later on. Quickly, go!" He ushered us off, whilst they ran into the trees.

The six of us made our way hastily to the tent, trying to get out of the open. Once back at the tent, we found that we were the only ones there. Thankfully, our tent was one of the few that hadn't been set on fire, so everything was still as we left it a few hours ago. Cedric had the idea to stay awake while the rest of us slept, but we hadn't even laid down when Mr Weasley and dad returned with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, all seemed unharmed. Mr Weasley sent us all to bed, which we obliged, with it being about four in the morning, and we were leaving for the Burrow in a few hours.

I felt as though I hadn't even been asleep when Mr Weasley woke us after only three hours. It took a lot of effort to pull myself out from underneath the covers, but once I remembered the terrifying events from last night, I soon found the energy to get dressed and pack my things.

Once Mr Weasley had packed up the tent, using magic, we were on our way out of the campsite, to get a Portkey back to the Burrow. The place was swarming with witches and wizards, all urgently trying to get hold of a Portkey, and by the tone of their voices, they also wanted to escape the still-lingering danger. We joined the queue, and managed to get an old rubber tyre to take us back to Stoatshead Hill, before you could call it dawn. We all walked briskly down the hill that took so much energy to climb the previous day, and before long, the Burrow was in sight. A warm feeling came over me, and I instantly had a smile on my face; the feeling of home is a wonderful thing.

A cry then reached our ears, and Mrs Weasley came bounding out of the house, a newspaper clamped in her hand. She rushed over to us and hugged us all in relief that we hadn't been harmed during the raid. She then grabbed Fred and George in a fierce hug, apologising about what she said to them before we left. Rose and I giggled when we saw how embarrassed Fred and George were when Mrs Weasley started peppering them in kisses. Thankfully for them, Mr Weasley soon prised her off of the twins, and calmed her down by leading her back into the house, explaining that we were all fine and there was no need to worry anymore.

"Mothers. Why are they so embarrassing?" George asked, rubbing his cheeks.

"Aw, she just loves you, is all." Rose said, wiping some lipstick off of his face. "You'll be like this with your children, I'm sure."

"I won't be that embarrassing…" He mumbled.

"So, are we still heading to Diagon Alley later?" Fred asked, as we made our way to the Burrow.

"Yeah, there are still a few things I need to get. And Tierney needs some more food. What time shall we go? I mean it's only…half seven now." I said, checking my watch.

"Just as long as it's daylight, any time is good." George replied, laughing.

For the next hour, the whole family, including Rose, Harry, Hermione and I, sat in the kitchen, enjoying some much needed coffee, and discussing what had been written in the Daily Prophet about the World Cup. Everyone was outraged by what Rita Skeeter had written in her article, as she was known for focusing on her own opinion about the events, rather what the overall look was. How she still allowed to publish her articles I do not know.

Rose and I decided, along with Ginny, to grab a few more hours' sleep, as we didn't function well when we had had too little sleep. We bid the others 'goodnight', even though it was the morning, and retired to bed, looking forward to the day ahead after we had absorbed some more energy.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello all! Thank you again for continuing to read this story - it means a lot that many people enjoy ths story of mine. Although, if it's not too much to ask, I would like it if more of you can review coz I would love to know your thoughts on this fan fiction :) Thank you, and enjoy :) _

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><p><strong>{The Heart of a Weasley}{Chapter Four}{Diagon Alley}<strong>

Grabbing those few extra hours of sleep was the best feeling, as I woke feeling fresh and full of energy. I wasn't the only one to feel like this as Rose bounced out of bed and was ready within fifteen minutes to go shopping in Diagon Alley. I wasn't too long after.  
>"Come <em>on<em>, you guys, I wanna go shopping!" Rose said excitedly, when she found that Fred and George were still lounging on the sofa, both half asleep. I stood in the doorway amused as I watched Rose impatiently tug on their arms. "Hurry up!" Rose really did like her shopping.  
>The twins both breathed sighs of defeat, and heaved themselves off the sofa. "Please don't go into every single shop like you do most of the time." Fred complained, grabbing his wallet from the table.<br>Rose folded her arms, insulted. "I don't do that."  
>"Yes you do." Fred, George and I all said together.<br>She looked at each of us, and then just made a 'humph' noise, and walked out of the room, but we were used to this; we got the same reaction every year. Once we're in Diagon Alley, she perks up immediately. I just grinned at the boys, and let out a laugh, and followed Rose into the kitchen, where we said our goodbyes to Mrs Weasley. Mr Weasley had already gone off to work, and the other four were in the garden, probably soaking up the lovely weather we were having today.

Rose, George, Fred, and I used floo powder to travel to Diagon Alley, although it's not my favourite form of travel. A broomstick is my favourite by far. But sadly, I can only do that on the Quidditch Pitch at Hogwarts. Speaking of which, I want to have a good look in Quality Quidditch Supplies.  
>"Right, I need to get…" Rose said, pulling the list out of her bag. "…The Standard Book of Spells, Advanced Potion-Making, Advanced Rune Translation, and Confronting the Faceless. I got the others a few weeks ago."<br>"We haven't got any of our books yet." George announced, as we weaved our way through all the witches and wizards that were crowded down Diagon Alley.  
>"Blimey, popular day to come shopping." We were in a massive traffic jam. "Good choice, girls." Fred added sarcastically.<br>A man then bumped into me, making no move to stop or apologize. I turned round, whilst rubbing my arm, to get a look at him, but the crowd had already swallowed him up. Fred and George were yelling after him, evidently not happy with him not apologizing. "Geez, some people."  
>"A lot of people are still in an uproar, or still wary, about what happened at the World Cup." Rose said. "But there's no need for behaviour like that."<br>We decided to try to be as quick as possible today with buying the rest of the things we needed for our sixth year at Hogwarts, but we could tell that we were going to be here for a good few hours at least. We started with the second-hand robe shop. Fred and George had grown a few inches over the summer, so their robes looked ridiculous on them now. Rose offered to buy them new robes, as she was financially comfortable and was very caring and thoughtful, but the twins wouldn't have it. I hope that it wasn't a pride thing as we've never viewed them as 'poor'.  
>After buying their new shirts, trousers, jumpers, and cloaks, we went to Eeylops Owl Emporium, where I bought some food for Tierney, the boys were looking at a cage full of mice and rats (not really sure why), and Rose was stroking some kittens near the back of the store. Once paid, I went over to Rose, who just couldn't tear herself away from the purring kittens. I don't blame her really.<br>"Alex, I want them all! They're all adorable!" Rose was speaking in an unusually high pitched, child-like voice.  
>"I know, they're so cute! I could just cuddle you all day!" I replied, mimicking Rose's voice naturally, picking up one of the kittens and hugging her to me. The boys then came over.<br>"Honestly, what is it with girls and kittens?"  
>"And the high pitched voices?"<br>I looked up at them, pouting in a 'but they're so sweet!' way. "How can you not fall in love with them on sight?" I held one of the kittens up to my face, and she meowed and put her paws on my face gently, making me giggle. I saw the boys roll their eyes.

Fred and George eventually had to physically pull us out of the shop, otherwise Rose and I could have sat there all day stroking those kittens. No wonder Rose chose to take a cat to Hogwarts rather than an owl or a toad.  
>"Right, I'm gonna head to Madame Malkins. I need some new robes for next year as mine, <em>somehow<em>, got destroyed last year…" I looked up at the twins, with a glint in my eye. They both avoided my eyes, but judging by the looks on their faces, they know they're guilty. It was about two weeks before the end of term, and I had, reluctantly, been helping Fred and George on one of their 'projects'. Little did any of us know that the potion would explode, and of course land all over me rather than them. I had to be sent to the hospital wing as boils and burns started erupting all over me, and I had to lie to Madam Pomfrey about what had happened, and told her that one of my own potions in class went wrong. I knew after that to never help Fred and George with their inventions, unless I knew one hundred percent that it was safe.  
>The others headed to Quality Quidditch Supplies, knowing that they were going to be in there for a while, whilst I went into Madame Malkins. Madame Malkin was behind the counter, and she smiled at me once I entered. "Good afternoon, dear. Here for new Hufflepuff robes?" She always remembered her regular customers.<br>"Hello, Madame. Yes, I am. My other ones are ruined."  
>"Right through here, there's another girl being fitted at the moment."<br>"Okay great, thank you."  
>I headed through the door to the back of the shop, and I immediately recognised the girl standing on the footstool.<br>"Eleanor!" I greeted with a smile, going over to hug her while the second witch was just sorting out the length of the robes. "How are you?" I went and stood on the footstool next to her, while Madame Malkin pulled a robe over my head. Eleanor was one of my close friends from school. She's in the same year, and in Ravenclaw.  
>"I'm really good, thank you! You?"<br>"Yeah, great, thanks. What've you been up to over the summer?"  
>"Not much really. Just been relaxing with my family. It's hard staying connected with the Magical world, having muggles parents and all. But I heard about the news of the World Cup! Dreadful, isn't it?"<br>"Yeah definitely. I went with the Weasley's, and just being in the middle of everything was scary. But thankful, I don't think many people were harmed."  
>"That's good that you're all okay. I just hope there's not another event like this. But how was your summer? Besides the World Cup."<br>"I went to California with my dad." I smiled over at her.  
>"Wow, alright for some!" We laughed.<br>"Right, that's you all done, dear." The second witch said to Eleanor, and she stepped down from her footstool, thanking the woman.  
>"Where're you heading next?" I asked her, as I held out my arms for Madame Malkin to measure.<br>"I'm all done now, so gonna head back home. But I'll see you next week on Platform nine and three quarters?"  
>"Of course! Have a great week!"<br>"You too, bye!"  
>With a quick hug, she left. I followed shortly after with my new robes. I found Rose, Fred and George still in Quality Quidditch Supplies, all engrossed in looking at the shops' new collection.<br>"Hey guys." I greeted, and Rose then shoved a book under my nose, making me laugh at her eagerness.  
>"Look, look, look!" I read the title of the book. <em>Beating the Bludgers – A Study of Defensive Strategies in Quidditch.<br>_"Ooh!" I took it off her. "This is the new book?" I started to flick through its pages.  
>"Yeah, I think it was released only a few days ago, which would explain why they're only two copies left on the shelf." She then grabbed one off the shelf for her. "Well, one now."<br>"This is definitely worth getting. It'll help us bump up our chances to win the Quidditch Cup."  
>"That's never gonna happen." George commented, reading the book over my shoulder. Rose and I gave him dirty looks.<br>"Excuse me?" Rose added, staring him down.  
>"He's right, you know. Gryffindor clearly have the best team." Fred joined in.<br>I scoffed, looking back down at the book. "You're only jealous because we beat you last year." Rose said, and I looked at her, trying not to grin. We had never brought up that match before. Fred just grabbed her shoulders from behind and said,  
>"Lucky shot."<br>George followed him over to look at the broomsticks, but as they were both smiling, we knew that we hadn't hit a nerve. Rose and I just laughed.

We purchased our books half an hour later, and the four of us decided to get an ice cream. The weather was very warm today, so we thought a treat was in order.  
>"I think we need to brave it and go into Flourish and Blotts." Rose announced, after finishing her ice cream, and looking across the street. Through the windows, I could see that the shop was swarming.<br>"I think you're right. It's not going to calm down any time soon."  
>And so, we went into the shop, squeezing past people to get to the stacks that we wanted, which were near enough the same ones, as we were mostly taking the same NEWT classes this year and next. Rose had out her list, and was scanning the shelves, whereas I was getting distracted by looking at books that weren't on my list at all. Rose then came to stand by me again and was looking at the top shelf.<br>"Who decided that making shelves as high as the ceiling was a good idea?" I looked at her amused. She was above average in height, yet still inches shorter than Fred, George and I. They were inches over six feet, so they were our usual way of reaching things up high.  
>"Fred, George, you're wanted." I said, laughing into the book I had grabbed off the shelf and started to read.<br>"That's always a pleasure to hear." Fred joked, slinging his arms around both mine and Rose's shoulders. George came up on Rose's other side, a few books under his arms already. Rose lightly elbowed Fred at his comment, and then indicated to one of the top shelves.  
>"You know you love me and want to get down a copy of Advanced Rune Translation for me." She grinned up at Fred and George.<br>"Well, I don't know. How much do you love us?" George said.  
>Rose looked at both of them, and then crossed her arms, although a smile was tugging at her lips. "Are we really gonna do this <em>again<em>?"  
>Fred and George have a habit of using their height to advantage most of the time when it involves Rose and I needing their help.<br>"Guys, just give her the damn book." I said, grinning. "Besides, you guys need them as well. Oh, and so do I."  
>They proceeded to tease us for a bit, but eventually gave in, and retrieved the books. We managed to work our way around the store, although slower than we would have liked, and left the store, after paying for our new books.<p>

Literately just as we had stepped out of the store, we bumped into some familiar faces.  
>"Mum, dad!" Rose said, skipping forward to hug her parents, as well as her brother and sister. Fred, George, and I greeted them too.<br>"So what have you kids been up to? Got all your school supplies?" Diego, Rose's dad, asked us, putting his arm around his eldest daughter.  
>"Yeah I think we're just about finished. Bit of a hectic day really." I replied, smiling."I know what you mean; we didn't expect it to be this busy." Rose's mum Felicity said.<br>"We're about to go for a drink in the Leaky Cauldron. Did you wanna join us?" Jae asked.  
>We accepted their invitation and headed to the Leaky Cauldron, and managed to grab a big table for the eight of us.<br>During our pleasant afternoon drinks, we talked about the upcoming year, and how excited we were to be going back. Although I love being home for summer, I think I love Hogwarts just that little bit more because such crazy and unexpected things happen there every year, especially when you're best friends with the Weasley twins. They sure do make your life an adventure. I had always gotten along with the Knight's for as long as I can remember. Diego and Felicity treated me as their daughter, and regularly had me over to stay at theirs. They also adored the twins, as Jae gets on with them really well and regularly messes around with them at school. They do share a dormitory and are in most of the same classes after all. Jae was like my big brother, and he is always there for me too. Rose and I do have a lot of fun competing with him at Quidditch, as he's a Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and has been since his second year, just like Rose and I. Lilly on the other hand is the sweetest girl you will ever meet. She's fourteen, but it's hard not to view her as a much younger child, because of the charm that she has. She's incredibly intelligent, way beyond her years, and she and Ginny spend a lot of time together, as they're in the same year. So really, the Knight's and the Weasley's were practically one big family really. It was nice to have so many people in our lives that we could rely on.

For what felt like hours sitting in the Leaky Cauldron enjoying our chat, we decided that it was best to head back to the Burrow, as we had a long day tomorrow. We arranged to meet Lilly and Jae on Platform nine and three quarters tomorrow at around 10:45, so that gave us time to some empty compartments on the Hogwarts Express. When we got back to the Burrow, Mrs Weasley had laid out what looked like dresses on Fred and George's beds. Rose and I burst out laughing when the twins held each of the 'dresses' up to their bodies.  
>"What the-"<br>"Has she lost her mind?"  
>"Why would she give us dresses?"<br>"Fine we like to experiment with different things, but not as far as this!"  
>Rose and I were practically on the floor laughing. Rose managed to compose herself quicker than I could. "You do know that they're not actually dresses, right?" They both just looked at her blankly. "They're dress robes. You know, like formal robes for special occasions."<br>The twins didn't look any less horrified.  
>"'Formal robes for special occasions'?" They said together, clearly not liking the sound of that.<br>"Yeah, we have to have dress robes for this year." I said, finally stopping laughing. "Didn't you read your Hogwarts letters properly?"  
>"No."<br>Of course they didn't.  
>"So what's this special occasion then?" Fred asked, stuffing the dress robes into his trunk, not really caring about keeping it uncreased.<br>Rose shrugged. "I have no idea. It doesn't say on the letter. I can't wait to find out though! The chance to dress up all pretty and elegant. We don't get to do that often enough at Hogwarts."  
>The boys did not look happy at all.<p>

For the next few hours, as Rose and I were all packed for the next school year, we were going around the house and helping anyone who hadn't finished, which was basically the boys. Afterwards, we were helping Mrs Weasley cook dinner, as the table was set for twelve people, as Percy and my dad were joining us tonight. There was a great atmosphere around the dinner table as everyone was looking forward to a new year at Hogwarts, and even though Percy was being quite boring with talking about Mr Crouch, he was outnumbered by a lot of people, so laughter was regular during dinner. After clearing up the kitchen, my dad and I said goodbye to each other, as I wouldn't see him for a long while. Mrs Weasley then ushered all us kids off to bed, as we had to be up at six tomorrow morning, so that we weren't all in a mad rush with the number of people in the house, as we had to get to Kings Cross for the Hogwarts Express at eleven in the morning. Fred and George, once again, gave up their beds for Rose and I, and all four of us were talking for a while before we gradually fell silent, giving into the tiredness and falling asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Harry Potter character**

**Author's Note: Firstly, I'm just going to apologize for how long it has been since I have updated! It's been just over a year, I can't believe that. It honestly shows just how crazy this year has been for me, but now that it's getting towards the summer, I can most definitely start updating more often! Just one thing has changed with this story: Alex has a nickname and it's Lexxa. Not too difficult to remember as it's with the same letters. Anyways, enjoy!**

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><p><strong>{The Heart of a Weasley}{Chapter Five}{Castle Lights}<strong>

Despite us getting up at six in morning to avoid stampedes around the house, we still ended up running late. Ginny was running around everywhere looking for her favourite pair of shoes that she refused to leave without, Ron was having trouble catching Pigwidgeon who was flapping everywhere as he was so excited at all the activity going on, and Fred and George were being indecisive about what new products they wanted to work on at Hogwarts so they were sorting through their various ingredients. Opening the front door, I saw just how horrendous the weather was. It was pouring down with rain, and I groaned when I knew that I would have to get wet. Rose, Hermione, Harry, and I ended up loading the taxis, whilst trying to shield our heads from the rain. Mr Weasley had ordered two taxis for us to take to Kings Cross. He had tried to order Ministry cars, but there weren't any available.

By seven thirty we were off. Thankfully not too late otherwise we would miss the train. And we don't want another repeat of what Harry and Ron did two years ago, even though I have to admit it did sound like fun.

The car journey wasn't the best. Rose, George and I were squashed in the back of one of the cars with our pets, so an owl and a cat, as Fred had managed to grab the front seat before the rest of us had a chance, so he was the most comfortable. Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in the other car with Mrs Weasley, as Mr Weasley was off at work. How they all got in that car I don't know.

We reached King's Cross just after ten thirty. After making sure that we had all our luggage, we made our way through the very busy platform, heading for the barrier between Platform's nine and ten.

"Alex, careful not to run into someone like you did in third year." George laughed, looking back at me. I just glared at him.

"Why do you feel the need to point that out every year?" I asked, watching as Ron and Harry ran through the barrier, closely followed by Ginny, Hermione and Mrs Weasley.

"Because it was absolutely hilarious." Fred said.

"The guy ran into me! I keep telling you this. I couldn't stop the trolley so I accidently hit him."

"And you ended up causing a scene by saying that you were running late for the train, when there was no train standing at either platform nine or ten, making you look ridiculous." Rose joined in, smirking at me.

I tossed my hair over my shoulder, muttered 'I hate you all' and ran towards the barrier, discreetly making sure that I was clear of hitting anyone as not to embarrass myself again in front of those three.

Once on Platform nine and three quarters, I smiled when I saw the scarlet steam train sitting at the platform's edge, and excited students piling onto the train, and hugging their parents goodbye. Even though it was my sixth time going to Hogwarts for a new year, I always got butterflies in my stomach.

Rose, Fred, and George appeared next to me moments later. We made our way over to one of the open doors, and heaved our trunks onto the train. We managed to find a compartment relatively quickly, and then we went back out onto the platform, to say good bye to Mrs Weasley, and also so that Rose and I could find Eleanor, Susannah, Jae, and Lilly.

"Are you sure you all have everything?" Mrs Weasley fussed over us, hugging Rose.

"I think so. We did a sweep around the house." Rose smiled at her.

"It's more likely for Fred and George to forget things. You're both very organised." Mrs Weasley pulled me into a hug.

Rose and I laughed. "I'll agree with that." We pulled away. "Thank you for having us, Mrs Weasley."

"Oh you're very welcome, dear. It's always a pleasure."

"Alex, Rose!"

We turned to see Eleanor heading towards us, closely followed by Susannah, our other good friend from Hogwarts. Rose and I greeted them enthusiastically.

"It feels like it's been forever since we've seen you guys!" Rose said. "It's been a whole summer. We need to meet up more." Ellie said.

"It's Alex's fault. She's the one who ran off to California." Susannah, more commonly known as Suze among us four, grinned at me.

"Hey!" I laughed. "You can talk. You're also one to run off on holiday."

"Yeah, that's true." Suze laughed.

Jae and Lilly soon met up with us. Rose and her siblings said hearty goodbyes to their parents just as the first whistle blew, letting everyone know that the train was departing within a few minutes. I quickly gave both Diego and Felicity hugs, and then boarded the Hogwarts Express. Lilly then bid us goodbye to go and locate Ginny and their group of friends. Rose, Jae, Ellie, Suze, and I soon reached our compartment, and found that Fred and George were talking to their mum out of the window.

"So tell us, what is going on at Hogwarts this year?"

"You can't keep this secret from us, mum!"

The twins evidently wanted to know what event was going on at Hogwarts that was so special and new. Mrs Weasley just chuckled.

"You'll just have to wait and see. I'm sure Dumbledore will tell you tonight at the feast. Now, behave yourselves, won't you? Won't you, Fred? And you too, George?"

The train then began to move, and the girls and I waved to Mrs Weasley. Fred and George were shouting out of the window over all the noise to try and find out this secretive event, but they had no luck. The train had already rounded the corner.

"Right, can you guys shut that window, please? I'm getting rained on." Rose complained, brushing down her jeans, which now had small spots of rain on it.

"Oh, right, sorry." George shut the window, and then took a seat next to Rose by the window. I automatically smiled, looking over at Suze, who winked at me. Suze and Ellie both knew about the chemistry between Rose and George, but Rose had never told them either, not that she needed to. Suze altered her position on the seat, and leant forward to talk to the pair. But the compartment door then opened, preventing Suze saying anything embarrassing to Rose and George.

"Hey guys!" Lee greeted us, sliding into the compartment. "Mind if I join you?"

Before any of us could really register, we were easily over half way to Hogwarts, and the rain hadn't ceased at all. If anything, I think it's gotten heavier, which is going to be fun when waiting for a carriage at Hogsmeade station. The train journey, so far, had been very eventful. Fred, George, and Suze were playing exploding snap, but I swear the twins had jinxed it to be extra sensitive and explosive as it made a horribly loud noise when it went off, and managed to hit a lot of us in the face when the cards sprang everywhere. Ellie had picked up on this too, as she kept getting disturbed when reading her Magical Creatures book.

"Have you guys tampered with those cards? They're not usually this…_alive_."

"Just because we like to _tamper_ with things, doesn't mean that we do it with everything we touch."

Ellie just flicked one of the cards off of her book with a grin, and went back to reading. She's a very stereotypical Ravenclaw, in the fact that she really likes to bury her nose in a book.

"Here, Fred, catch." I said, gesturing that I was going to throw a sweet for him to catch in his mouth. We loved this game. He opened his mouth, and managed to catch fourteen in a row. We tend to do this a lot in the Great Hall, when he's sitting at the Gryffindor table, and me at the Hufflepuff table.

"Ooh, I don't have this one!" Suze exclaimed, opening one of her chocolate frogs and looking at the card inside. She proudly held up her Godric Gryffindor Card. She's in Gryffindor at Hogwarts, and therefore it's understandable why she would be so excited in getting that chocolate frog card. She's the same year as Ellie, Rose and I, and comes from a long line of pureblood wizards, not that she acts on it.

I pulled a copy of the Daily Prophet out of my bag, and settled back into my seat, working my way through a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Jae came and sat next to me, reading over my shoulder.

"That bloody Skeeter woman really drives me up the wall." He commented, blowing a bubble with his gum.

"I know. She takes everything out of context. I've bumped into her a few times when I've visited dad at the Ministry, and she's always, _always_ eavesdropping on other peoples' conversations by lurking round a corner or pretending to be reading a bulletin board. Why she's still employed I do not know." I said, turning the page as not to bother reading her article on the happenings at the World Cup.

"Probably because she creates 'exciting' new theories and opinions of different people who're in the spotlight at the time." Jae said, reading through the Quidditch section of the paper.

By the time it started getting dark, we knew that we weren't far away from Hogwarts. Us girls chucked the boys out while we changed into our Hogwarts robes, ready for the feast in a few hours. My mouth started watering at the thought of all the food that I could load my plate with…

Once the boys had changed, we had reached Hogsmeade station, and the weather was still horrible. We joined the queue that was lining the corridor, and knew that it would take a while for us to reach the door, which was fine with me as that meant that I would be staying dry for the time being. However, that didn't happen as the prefects were ushering us off the train quickly, so that we wouldn't cause a delay for the feast. When we reached the door, Fred pulled his robe over my head, shielding me from the rain. As we got closer to the front of the queue, I saw the usual Thestrals that were pulling the carriages up to the school. I noticed them on my first day at Hogwarts, and when I voiced this to Rose, she thought I was making a joke; she couldn't see them, and still can't. Fred, George, and the rest of my friends can't see them either. This made me think that I was going crazy, so I had asked Professor Dumbledore about them. He told me that they can only be seen by those who have seen death. Everything made sense after that.

Fred and I then jumped inside one of the carriages, Rose and George right behind us. Fred and George both shook the water out of their hair inside the carriage, spraying Rose and I with water, but we just laughed.

"This rain better calm down by tomorrow." Rose said, wrapping her cloak more tightly around her body. "I hate the rain so much!"

"This is England after all. Its favourite weather is rain." Fred replied, smiling at her.

We reached the Entrance Hall quickly, and dived through the doors, dripping water everywhere.

"Thank bloody God we're out of that." George said, shaking his cloak to get rid of some of the wetness. However, just when we thought that we were out of the rain for good, we were wrong. Peeves had hijacked the Entrance Hall, and thought that it would be fun to throw water balloons at students as they came in from the rain. Rose and I screamed as a balloon exploded at our feet, drenching our tights and shoes.

"Peeves!" I yelled up at him, anger all over my face. "Can't you find anything else to amuse yourself with?!"

He just burst out laughing, and aimed another water balloon at us, but Fred and George pulled us towards the Great Hall, slipping slightly on the wet floor.

"Right, we'll see you later. Enjoy the feast." Rose said, smiling at the twins, and we both headed over to join our friends at the Hufflepuff table.

"Hello, ladies." Cedric greeted, as we took our seats with him, his friend Sam, and our dorm mates Hattie and Jessica.

"Evening." I replied, sorting out my hair so it looked as presentable as possible, as the wind had blown it into disarray. I then gave Hattie and Jessica hugs, the table between us making it a bit awkward.

"How was your summer?" I asked them both, as many students were still piling into the hall, all dripping wet.

"It was fantastic, thanks! It was so nice and relaxing, although I really did miss this place." Hattie responded, looking around the Great Hall with a smile on her face. "How about you?"

"Same. Spent most of it with the Weasley's." Rose said, wringing out her hair onto the floor. "Your brother is starting this year, isn't he? And your baby sisters too, right?" She added to Jessica. They both nodded, looking excited.

My stomach was rumbling like crazy, and as though they heard me, the Great Hall doors then opened, and Professor McGonagall lead the tiny first years up the middle of the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, towards the teachers' table. Hattie and Jessica waved to their siblings as they passed us, all three of them with rather terrified looks on their faces. I remember that feeling when I was sorted five years ago. Not knowing what to expect, praying for the house your siblings were in, hoping not to disappoint your parents. I wasn't envious of them at all.

We watched as McGonagall called upon the first years one by one, each to their own taking baby steps up to the stool, and gingerly placing the Sorting Hat on their heads.

"Well, that was probably the most intense welcoming feast I think we've ever experienced." Rose pointed out as Dumbledore bid us goodnight.

"You said that right." We joined the crowd as all the students were making their way out of the hall and to their respective dormitories. "And this Tri Wizard Tournament. Wow, that's gonna make the year a lot more dramatic."

"As if we don't get enough drama here as it is." Rose pointed out.

"Tell me about it. I thought our lives were pretty dramatic anyway with Fred and George around."

Rose laughed.

We finally reached the double doors leading into the Entrance Hall, which was now all puddle-free. Just as I was turning to head down to the Common Room with the other Hufflepuff's, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me from the crowd.

"Oh my God, Liza!"

I hugged one of my closest friends. Liza's in Ravenclaw, same year as me, has tanned skin and brown hair and eyes. In a nutshell, she is beautiful.

"I tried to find you on the train, but I had to stop this fight that was goin' on." She said, in her slightly twangy accent. Her parents emigrated from America after they graduated from a magical school over here.

"Oh no, you're fine. We'll catch up tomorrow at breakfast. Sound good?"

"Of course!"

We bid each other goodnight and I caught up with Rose at the portrait hole. We climbed through, and reached the comfort that was our home for the majority of the year. The room was circular, with a relatively low ceiling, much resembling a burrow, where our animal the Badger lives. Three fires roared at different points in the room, equipped with either yellow or black couches and armchairs in front of the flames. Tables, bookshelves, plants, and tapestries also were present. Ground-level windows finished off the room. We could see the grass moving softly in the wind.

A big portrait of Helga Hufflepuff hung above the biggest fire. Rose stopped and looked at our founder, me stopping with her.

"I can never get over how much you look like her." Rose said, rather out of the blue.

I looked deeply at the portrait.

"It's the red hair." I replied.

Rose pondered. "Yeah, most likely."

We then headed for our dormitory door, looking forward to our nice, warm, comfy beds and the first nights' sleep before what's going to be an excellent year.


End file.
